What Was and What Might Be
by heyits.reagan
Summary: After an eventful day on Caldera, the three superheroes meet in the kitchen to reflect on life before the attack on Mighty Med. (Maybe spoilers from the Home Sweet Home episode? Although not really?)


I miss Horace and Alan a lot :( So I wrote this! It was originally going to be a little Skylar and Bree bonding short fic, but it was extremely short and I was rewatching Mighty Med on Netflix in the process and, well... I really miss Horace and Alan :/ SO! I came up with this. I hope they, somehow, make an appearance on the show. Although it's not looking good :(

* * *

Skylar awoke with a jolt and tears running down her face. She scrambled to the side of the bed to flip her lamp on so she wasn't engulfed in total darkness. Memories of being dangled over the bubbling volcano flashed through her mind like a bad horror film. Bree squinted at the new source of light and raised her head to look across the room.

"What's going on?" she asked in a groggy voice as she rose from the bed and rubbed her neck.

"Sorry," Skylar quickly apologized. "I just, um, I had a bad dream." Bree threw back the comforter and walked over to Skylar's bed. She sat at Skylar's feet.

"You wanna talk about it?" Bree asked with a kind smile. Skylar tucked some hair behind her ear and sighed.

"When I was younger, prisoners on Caldera were executed by being dipped in a pool of lava."

"Like what almost happened to us," Bree added.

"Right. I don't know, I guess it just really scared me how much Caldera has changed. The Caldera I know would never kill one of their own. It depresses me that I'm now an enemy of my own planet."

Bree sighed and rubbed Skylar's arm. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Maybe, when we finally defeat Roman and Ryker, you can go back to Caldera and work on making it great again. I'll even come help if you want."

Skylar smiled. "Thanks, Bree. I feel better now that I've told you."

"Good. Try and get some sleep, okay?"

"I will, but I'm thirsty right now. You want anything to drink?" Skylar crawled out of bed and stretched.

"No, thanks. I'm so tired I could fall over. Goodnight!" Bree flashed her a smile and climbed back in her own bed. Skylar smirked and headed down to the kitchen.

A few minutes passed as she sat there with a glass in her hand and many thoughts on her mind. Oliver came stumbling down the stairs taking overly deep breaths like he'd ran a marathon. Skylar shot him a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Oliver?"

"Yeah," he breathed, holding his chest. "I'm fine."

"Why are you-"

"Oh hey, looks like we're having a party down here," Kaz interrupted, rounding the corner and joining them in the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?" Oliver asked, pressing his hand firmly against his chest.

"Had to pee and heard voices. What about you guys?"

"Bad dream."

"Um… Asthma attack?"

Skylar looked at him. "Why do you sound so unsure?"

Oliver shrugged. "Because I have no idea what's happening. My chest is killing me."

"Scarlet attacked you earlier, so it could just be a side effect from that."

"Scarlet attacked you?" Kaz asked, leaning over the counter as Oliver sat in front of him.

Oliver nodded, "Yeah, then Skylar attacked her, and that's how we were almost barbecued."

"Aw, you guys had all the fun. Meanwhile, I was stuck back on earth annoying Chase with my amazing lady skills. … Well, I guess that was fun, too, but I miss the life threatening fun we used to have."

Skylar frowned. "We go on life-threatening missions all the time."

"Yeah, but that's their thing." He waved toward the stairs. "I mean our thing, where we try to fight villains who severely outrank us and almost die, but end up saving lives in the process."

Oliver nodded. "Yeah, those days were fun. I miss being able to read a comic book and be qualified as a doctor."

"I miss everything about our old lives," Skylar sighed, looking down at the empty glass. The boys fell silent and they were stuck in an uncomfortable position where they all thought about how things used to be.

"Could there be a chance that… That even Alan is still alive?" Oliver asked, breaking the silence. Skylar and Kaz glanced at him.

"I don't think so," Kaz said gently, already seeing the light of hope in Oliver's eyes. "Don't you think he would've tried to contact us by now?" He didn't want Oliver to be filled with empty hope. Skylar and Kaz already knew there was no chance of survivors, but Oliver always was the optimistic one.

"No? He didn't like us, remember?" Oliver whipped out his phone and searched for Alan's number.

"Oliver… Please, don't," Skylar begged. "I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. We miss them too, but don't give yourself false hope."

"It was never confirmed, though, who lived and who died." Oliver dialed Alan's number and pressed the phone to his ear. Kaz rolled his eyes and snatched the phone away. He ended the call and laid the phone face down by the sink.

"Stop it, Oliver. You know there were no survivors, whether you want to believe it or not. It's been months since it all happened and we are finally moving on, don't start talking like that," Kaz snapped, his eyes narrowing. Oliver looked away from his best friend as the anger in Kaz's words hung in the air.

Skylar was surprised as well but didn't argue because what Kaz said was true. They were all just beginning to move on and the sooner Oliver accepted it, the better.

"I'm heading to bed," Skylar informed them, sitting the glass in the sink.

"So am I," Kaz agreed. As Skylar headed for the stairs, Kaz hung back and turned to Oliver. "You better not call that number again, Oliver. I mean it." Oliver didn't respond. Kaz sighed and walked to the stairs. He hated being so harsh to his best friend, but he was trying to help Oliver in the long run. Whatever it took to get Oliver to accept that Mighty Med was gone, Kaz was willing to do it.

When Oliver heard the last stair creak, he leaned over the counter and grabbed his phone back. "Just one call," he promised himself. "No answer and I'll head to bed." So, he redialed the number and anxiously listened to the dial tone. One ring. Two rings. Four rings. Five…

On the sixth ring, Oliver hung up. He laid his phone down and stared at it. He suddenly felt so alone because it was true, there really were no survivors from the attack. Horace, Alan… They're all gone. Really gone. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Oliver slid off the stool and turned to leave.

A loud vibration stopped him. It was consistent, like someone was calling him. Oliver's heart skipped a beat. He swiped the phone off the counter and looked at the name. _Alan_. With shaking fingers, he slid the arrow to the right and, slowly, raised the phone to his ear.

"H-Hello?"

"Oliver?"

•••••••

The next morning, Kaz and the others found Oliver passed out on the couch with his phone loosely wrapped in his hand. Skylar and Kaz exchanged looks and Kaz chose to wake Oliver up. He shook the boy's shoulder and grabbed Oliver's phone.

"You called him again, didn't you?" Kaz demanded in a hushed tone. Oliver blinked and sat up.

"What time is it?" Oliver groaned, looking around.

Kaz ignored him, "I told you not to call that number again and you did it anyways. Geez, Oliver, why? It's like you don't want to move on!"

Oliver shook his head and reached for his phone, but Kaz held it out of reach. "Kaz, please, it's not what you think. Listen, I-"

"I'm trying to help you out, Oliver! I know you're still upset about your mom so I'm trying to get you past Mighty Med, but doing this won't get you any closer to moving on!" Kaz walked around the couch and headed for the stairs. Oliver was quick to follow him. He grabbed Kaz's arm and pulled him back.

"Kaz, Kaz, listen to me!"

"I'm not giving you your phone back, Oliver!"

"I don't care about that!" He grabbed Kaz's shoulders so Kaz was forced to look at him. Oliver smiled. "Kaz, he called me back. Alan called me back." Kaz's eyes widened slightly, but he shoved Oliver back.

"Don't joke about that."

"What's going on?" Bree asked as the rest of the gang joined them. Oliver and Kaz ignored them.

"Kaz, you know I would never joke about that. Check the call history if you want. He called me back, Kaz. He and Horace… They're still alive."

"What?!" Skylar gasped. Oliver grinned and looked between the two of them.

"I overslept because I was up all night talking to them! Luckily, they weren't in the part of the hospital that was hit directly, so they managed to escape with minor injuries. Some other superheroes made it out as well and they're currently in hiding in the countryside."

Kaz didn't know what to say. "They're… They're alive."

Skylar had tears in her eyes. She stood between them and pulled them into a hug. "They're alive!" Bree and Chase exchanged smiles.

When they pulled away, Kaz handed Oliver his phone back. "I'm sorry for being a jerk, man."

"It's okay, you were just trying to protect me. I get it." Kaz nodded and pulled Oliver into a tight hug.

The atmosphere was noticeably lighter that day, and every day following. They talked to Alan and Horace on a regular basis, constantly giving each other updates. The young superheroes knew they would be reunited soon, but they had to take down their enemies first. However, Kaz, Skylar, and Oliver weren't just fighting for revenge anymore. Now, they're fighting for their family as well, because now a part of it was alive again.


End file.
